


axe and shield

by rosegoldblood



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Ambiguous Relationships, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Homoeroticism, Knights - Freeform, M/M, Minor Injuries, Sexually Charged Swordfighting, Sharing Clothes, not technically romantic but whoa mama its very homoerotic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:42:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27611558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosegoldblood/pseuds/rosegoldblood
Summary: the difference between george's two knights isn't so hard to see.
Relationships: Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), GeorgeNotFound/Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 21
Kudos: 389





	axe and shield

**Author's Note:**

> can we get some noise for king george whoo  
> follow my [twitter](https://twitter.com/rosegldblood) or my [tumblr.](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/georgeapologist)  
> 

it's almost teasing, when sapnap says it. 

no matter how serious or genuine he's being, those words - _my lord, your majesty_ \- they always sound so mocking, in a playful way. like they've been friends ever since they were children, not a knight servicing a king, bound to responsibilities and orders - none of the respect or authority that the words usually have.

george wouldn't have it other way.

"come on, your majesty." it's definitely meant to be teasing now, the way sapnap grins and holds his sword, confident in everything from his face to his stance. "or are you too much of a coward to even train with me?"

it should offend him. if any other royal were around, they surely would scold sapnap for his _impertinence._

but there's no one around but the two of them. alone.

"that's no way to talk to a king," george says, coldly, though it's impossible to resist the smile growing on his face. he draws his own sword, letting his cloak fall to the ground, as well as his crown. 

"is that so?" sapnap whispers as they circle around each other, swords drawn, feet padding against the soft grass of the training grounds. "i guess you'll you have to punish me for my disrespect, then."

they jump forward at the same time.

their swords clash against each other, the sound of metal crashing together ringing out across the grounds. sapnap pushes his sword forward, kicking george in the stomach, forcing him onto the ground.

he rolls backward and gets to his feet quickly enough, going to jab at sapnap's chest plate. sapnap dodges to the right, making george stumble, though he manages to kick sapnap's sword out of his hand. 

it lands a few feet away, blade skittering against the ground. sapnap raises his eyebrows, though he was still smiling, cocky and arrogant. he made no attempt to run for his sword. the knight's going easy on george, he knows that - if he wasn't, george would be on the ground by now.

george lunges, sword perfectly poised to to stab at the metal covering sapnap's chest -

sapnap grabs the back of his tunic and kicks him to the ground. he rolls onto his back just as sapnap takes george's sword, driving the blade through his tunic and into the ground, pinning him. 

"i win," sapnap brags, voice low, hand still on george's sword hilt, "fair and square, my lord. say it."

george pants, out of breath, but sapnap doesn't seem at all tired. of course. he tries to get up, but the sword keeps him pressed to the ground. "you win," he admits, trying to ignore sapnap's other hand, heavy against his shoulder.

"fair and square," sapnap murmurs, their faces so unbearably close, strands of black hair falling across george's nose. george grits his teeth.

"fair and square," he repeats, barely a breath, sapnap's fingers hot like branding irons across his stomach (when did that happen?). george closes his eyes and his arms fall limp as sapnap grins down at him, victory in his eyes. "now let me go, or i'll have you beheaded."

at this sapnap laughs, incredulously. "as if. you would ever. no one else is willing to put up with you like i do." and finally he clambers off of george, though their legs are still tangled together. 

"dream is," george says, and sapnap rolls his eyes at the mention of the other knight. 

"dream is a bootlicker, and too head over heels for you for his own good," sapnap remarks, falling onto his back on the ground, grass brushing against his legs, getting dirt on his shoes and armour. george winces and flicks dirt off his own arm. "what's wrong, your majesty? the ground a little too dirty for you?"

"shut up," he snaps, though he knows it to be true. even after years of training, with a lieu of teachers and friends who smacked him to the ground, george still hates how rough and unpleasant the dirt was. 

sapnap laughs again, hands tucked behind his head. george looks at him, white dirt-stained ribbon winding through the grass, light falling across his face. he's pretty like this. he's pretty all the time.

george doesn't know if he doesn't notice it enough, or if he notices it too much. the lines are blurry that way.

he's pretty all the time. it's such a shame he's so annoying, george thinks, his less than ideal upbringing making him lack a sense of respect and manners. george has always thought that it's nothing short of a miracle that sapnap has managed to become a knight.

"you know, you call dream a bootlicker," george starts, "but he's just loyal, sapnap. he's doing his job as a knight."

"that's the problem," sapnap sighs, and he sits up, looking somewhere in the distance, eyes vacant like he was somewhere else entirely. "he _is_ a knight. and a good one. which makes him a bootlicker. guards who protect people who don't need protection."

another statement of sapnap's that really would count as treason if george was as prideful as a king should be. "right," he says slowly, like he's trying to understand something, "sapnap, you're aware that you are a knight."

his laugh is bitter. "not by choice. i come from a poor family, being a knight is a pretty good alternative to starving or becoming a merchant." sapnap pauses. "i mean, being a merchant isn't so bad, i just don't like it. so here i am. a knight." there's another pause. "there's nothing wrong with being a knight. really. i mean, you..." _you'd be dead without dream and i._ sapnap is brave, but he doesn't dare say it.

george understands it anyway.

"but being a knight feels weird because i'm here, protecting you, but i'm not there to protect the people who i love and who raised me. and you - you have so many luxuries and so much money but there are people out there starving." sapnap scrunches up his nose.

"i know," george says, and sapnap looks a little surprised, "that a lot of my - my family, and my father, they all hoarded all this food and luxury. and i feel bad... for not noticing it until now." _until he's dead, and there's nothing i can do about it now._ "but i intend to change that. the commoners deserve to live as much as i do."

a thought strikes his mind. "though i do have to ask. all that stuff you said about knights. you didn't become this by choice, necessarily... if you had another one, would you quit? would you stop being my knight?"

referring to sapnap as _my knight_ feels a little strange, but right. because that's what he is - he's george's, no matter what either of them have to say about it. sapnap heaves a long sigh.

"loaded question, your highness. one that i might not be able to answer without you putting my head on a chopping block." 

george wouldn't, but he doesn't say that. something to hang over sapnap's head, at least, in case he gets a little too unruly. a little too brave.

with a shake of his head, sapnap stands up and offers his hand toward george. "another one, my lord?" he asks, grinning, knowing he can beat george over and over again. knowing he can get away with anything because he was right - george loves to hate him. there's no one else like sapnap.

and, well - maybe he understands some things a little better than george does. hell, a little better than dream does.

a knight... someone honorable and polite and chivalrous. all things that sapnap is not. he's rude and mocking and far too annoying when he ought to not be. and yet. and yet.

george takes his hand anyway.

✦

dream is different.

he's always been the very mark of what a knight should be. dedicated and loyal. sometimes it scares george, how _dedicated and loyal_ he is, how happy he is to serve george, like he derives some kind of pleasure from it. like george could tell him to jump of a cliff and dream _would._

dream says it like devotion.

"are you sure we should be doing this, your highness?" he asks, voice laced with worry and nervousness, his hand clenching the lamp in his hand. the other was on his sword hilt, like he was preparing for an attack.

george eased it off and laced his fingers through dream's, smiling slightly. "yes, i'm sure. i rarely get to experience the town." the words _not since the battle_ hang heavy in the air between them, unspoken though both of them know it's there. "besides, you're here to protect me."

this makes dream relax, and george begins to wonder whether protecting george really does make dream some kind of happy. "that's what i'm for," he says, and they continue through the village.

music drifts through the air, and george admires the fabric banners and lanterns hung up around the stalls and shops. perhaps it's some kind of festival, or perhaps this is just the every day of the town - george wouldn't know. but he'd like to.

"is that a bakery?" he points out a small stall with a worn-out wooden sign, and george can't help but be drawn to it, with the lovely, enticing smell of cakes and bread. 

"yes, i think that's niki's," dream responds, and lets himself be pulled toward it. the front is lined with plates laden with bread all shapes and sizes, and george's mouth starts to water just looking at it. "oh, hi, niki."

"hi, dream," niki says sweetly, then gestures toward george, "who's your friend?"

right. it's too dangerous to go out into the village as the king - that's asking for trouble - so george changed into some of dream's clothes (they cut the hem so it wouldn't get too long). of course nobody recognises him.

dream bites his lip, trying to think of a name. "gogy," he answers, and niki blinks at the unusual name. "yes. his name - is gogy. right. um - like froggy, because his parents were very fond of frogs."

george has to bite his own lip to restrain his laughter, though poor niki seems more confused than anything. "right. of course. nice to meet you... gogy," she says awkwardly, "what would you two like to buy?"

he leans over, scanning over the various pastries. "what's that?" george asks, pointing at some kind of cookie sandwich, the top biscuit carved with intricate patterns such as flowers and the kingdom crest in the middle.

"it's chocolate paste in between two biscuits," niki explains, pulling her blonde-brown hair into a ponytail as she picks one up carefully, "my friend tubbo helped me decorate the top part. would you like them?"

when george looks over to dream, his knight just shrugs. he turns back to niki and nods. "yes, actually, i'd like some." she gives him a plateful of them and in return he slides over a few gold coins. "thank you!" he calls as he walks away.

"good?" dream asks as george takes a bite. his eyes widen, the biscuits light and fluffy and the chocolate in between flavourful and sweet. he nods, a smile on his face, and dream laughs fondly. "good."

they continue to stroll through the roads and village, dream pointing out a few things as george listened in awe. it all reminds him of how disconnected he is with his own kingdom - he really should get out more. a king protected its citizens, after all.

through the growing crowd of people george spots a stage, a man with a lyre singing atop it. his eyes widen with curiosity and he squeezes through a few people to get to the front.

"look, dream!" he says excitedly, but when he turns around, his knight is gone. "dream?"

george rushed back to where he was, bumping past a few people, but dream is still nowhere to be found. "dream?" he yells, making people cast glares at him, but at this point he doesn't care. dream is his guide - he'd hate to get lost in the village.

he'd hate to lose his knight.

in a panic george rounds back to bakery, but there's no dream there. he loops around the town, but still no dream. heat rises in his cheeks, and his eyes start to sting, though he wipes them away. he yells dream's name again, with no response.

another frantic turn brings him to a dirty alleyway. george pulls a disgusted face and goes to walk back about, but a hand catches his wrist and throws him onto the ground, and another tugs his hood off.

"well, well, well," someone says. george groans in pain and starts to sit up, but a boot to his chest slams him back down. "if it isn't king george, the spoiled brat. searching for your knight, _your highness?_ " it's eerily reminiscent of how sapnap says the title, but there's so much more to it. bitterness. spite. 

"more like his lap dog," someone else says, and everyone around him barks out a laugh. from the sound of it, there are at least four people there - and he didn't even have his sword. he'd trusted dream to protect him. he'd trusted dream too much. "spoiled brat. living up there in your castle with your daddy's money. people down here are dying, you know."

a hand brushes against his pouch, loaded with coins, pulling it from his belt. that's not too bad - he really does have a lot of money. the dagger under his chin concerns him more. 

but before it can cut into his neck, ending his bloodline once and for all, it flies out of thief's hand. the person gasps before they're knocked out by a sword hilt. someone else draws a weapon, but they're knocked out too.

the _whoosh_ of a sword blade swings above george, dream baring his teeth at the other thieves, the ones that were still conscious. "get away from him!" he snarls, and they do, scrambling in different directions. "cowards."

he drops to his knees, settling george's head into his lap. "are you okay, your highness?" his voice is so gentle, like always. _your highness._ laced with concern and loyalty and an unending sense of some kind of piety. 

"yes, i'm okay. thank you... for coming to save me."

dream smiles, like it's what he was born for. it is what he lives for, on that george is sure.

"of course. that's what i'm for."


End file.
